Who we work with
Our automotive customers fall into four groups: Japanese OEMs and their tier-1 suppliers (our longest-running relationships, going back to 2009), EV battery makers in China and Korea, automotive parts aftermarket brands in North America and Europe, and classic car restoration shops in Japan and Germany. Each group has different drawings, different quality documentation, and different tolerance for price — we've built our process to handle all four.
Design validation and prototype stampings
Most new parts come to us in the DV (design validation) phase — the OEM engineering team has locked the CAD but hasn't cut hard tooling yet. They need 5–50 pieces to verify fit, stress, and assembly before committing to a $500k stamping die set. We turn these around in 2–3 weeks: laser cut blanks on our Mitsubishi 3150EX, CNC bend on EKO press brakes, weld subassemblies with TIG or spot welding, inspect on CMM, and ship with EN 10204 3.1 mill certs.
For DV samples that require stamping geometry (deep draws, complex flanges), we run soft tooling on our 600T and 1250T hydraulic presses. Soft dies cost 10–20% of production tooling and last several hundred pieces — enough for DV and early PV (production validation) phases. See our automotive steel grades page for specific grade capability.
EV battery enclosures and structural parts
EV battery work has grown from 5% to roughly a third of our automotive volume over the past three years. Typical scope: aluminum 6061-T6 extrusion frames cut to length and machined, DP590 or DP780 crash-protection plates laser cut and formed, HC500LAD+Z mounting brackets stamped or laser-bent, and a few machined aluminum heat-sink components. We weld the final enclosure with TIG (aluminum) and MIG (steel), paint for corrosion protection, and ship complete.
IP-rated sealing is handled by groove-and-gasket design. We don't manufacture the gaskets but we cut precision grooves and specify standard gasket suppliers. For IP67 and above, we pressure-test each enclosure with nitrogen before shipping.
Chassis brackets, protection plates, sensor mounts
The "long tail" of automotive parts — small brackets, plates, and mounts produced in 50–500 piece batches — is our bread and butter. These parts rarely justify dedicated tooling but pile up into substantial annual volumes. We run them on laser + bend + weld processes with reusable soft fixtures.
For sensor mounting brackets and electronic housings, we work in aluminum 6061-T6 (machined) or SPCC/HC380LAD+Z (sheet metal). For under-body protection plates and skid plates, DP590+Z or HC500LAD+Z gives the impact resistance needed with galvanized corrosion protection.
Aftermarket and reproduction
For aftermarket trim, bumper brackets, and reproduction body panels, we work from 3D scans (customer-supplied or we arrange regionally) or reference parts. Reverse engineering takes 3–5 business days; first-sample delivery typically 3 weeks. Classic Porsche, Toyota Corona, Datsun, and JDM kei-car parts are the most common projects in this category.
Documentation and certifications
Every automotive order ships with: EN 10204 3.1 mill certificates for all metals, First Article Inspection report with full dimensional coverage of your drawing callouts, Certificate of Conformance, and RoHS/REACH compliance statement on request. For customers requiring PPAP Level 3 or Level 5 packages, we prepare DFMEA, control plan, and capability studies — ask your sales contact to enable this during RFQ.